]]>Bharat Petroleum plans to enter into travel business with Happy Roads start-up, which is aimed at helping travelers plan and execute road trips.

India’s second largest oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) is planning to enter the travel business with its personal travel offering, Happy Roads, which would help the passengers plan and execute road trips, two senior company officials said.

The company is looking to launch an application in about two months, the executives said, requesting anonymity. Using the application, the state-run company hopes to draw more millennials, seen as being accustomed to traveling by road, into its customer base.

“We are doing something very unique which no one has done. We have associated with some of the best content creators on travel for Happy Roads. Our app will also give real time updates on travel destinations to our customers,” said a senior official from BPCL.

The travelers who are planning a trip on Happy Roads will be able to select different travel options like wildlife, romantic, leisure, religious adventure, nature, offbeat, and heritage. The app will also help users to travel nearby destinations and plan a trip.

The app would compete with existing players such as TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet India.

The company also tied up with Bharti AXA General Insurance and PolicyBazar for providing travel insurance. The car rental company Zoom Car, for cars and drivers. Also on board with 3M, which provides car care services.

“If someone is using our application, they would be updated on the services provided and would be using our services on the network they seek to travel. This will help us connect to users, give a boost to our loyalty programs and help us acquire new customers,” stated a senior official.

The app is currently under testing for user acceptance and friendliness. By the end of the march, it will begin digital marketing for the app. To spread the word further, it will rely on its fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) customers. The company has 50 million LPG users, of which 24 million users are urban.

A BPCL official said, “We see this start-up with a lot of potentials as no one is giving you customized services in a single package with car services, curated content and trip insurance and advisory.” “Currently we are planning to deploy the app for users in the South. And depending on the feedback, we would take it forward to other regions and also be working within cities for navigation.”

“The app will notify about the near-by bank ATMs, restrooms, pharmacies or restaurants. We are also upgrading our retail outlets that we would link on these roads,” the second BPCL official added.